Morphometry of gastric endocrine cells in hypergastrinemic patients treated with the somatostatin analogue octreotide

• Published in: Regulatory peptides Vol. 47; no. 3; pp. 307 - 318
• Main Authors: Bordi, Cesare, Azzoni, Cinzia, Pilato, Francesco P., Robutti, Flavio, D'Ambra, Giancarlo, Caruana, Pietro, Rindi, Guido, Corleto, Vito D., Annibale, Bruno, Delle Fave, Gianfranco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 22.09.1993; Amsterdam Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Antral G cell hyperfunction; Atrophic gastritis type A; Biological and medical sciences; ECL cell; Female; Gastric argyrophil cell; Gastric Mucosa - drug effects; Gastric Mucosa - pathology; Gastrins - blood; Gastritis, Atrophic - drug therapy; Gastritis, Atrophic - pathology; Hormones. Endocrine system; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Octreotide - pharmacology; Octreotide - therapeutic use; Parietal Cells, Gastric - drug effects; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Pyloric Antrum - drug effects; Pyloric Antrum - pathology; Stomach Diseases - drug therapy; Stomach Diseases - pathology; Zollinger-Ellison syndrome; Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome - drug therapy; Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome - pathology; ECL cell; Antral G cell hyperfunction; Atrophic gastritis type A; Gastric argyrophil cell; Zollinger-Ellison syndrome; Endocrinopathy; Human; Hypergastrinemia; Chemotherapy; Gastrointestinal hormone; Endocrine cell; Treatment; Analog; Morphology; Gastrin; Digestive diseases; Somatostatin; Gastric disease
• ISSN: 0167-0115; 1873-1686
• DOI: 10.1016/0167-0115(93)90397-Q

The aim of the study was to evaluate whether treatment with 200 μg/d of the somatostatin analogue octreotide (SMS 201–995) for three months can influence the trophic action exerted by hypergastrinemia on endocrine cells of the oxyntic mucosa, a condition potentially leading to hyperplasia and carcinoid tumors. Endocrine cells were morphometrically investigated in Grimelius silver stained sections of endoscopic biopsies of oxyntic mucosa collected from 13 hypergastrinemic patients with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES) ( n = 5), antral G cell hyperfunction (AGCH) ( n = 4) and atrophic gastritis type A (AG-A) ( n = 4) before and after 3 months treatment and 3 months after drug discontinuance. The treatment induced a reduction of the volume density ( P<0.015), profile cross sectional area ( P<0.05) and number of cell profiles per unit area ( P<0.015) of argyrophil cells. A rebound of all these parameters was observed 3 months after drug withdrawal with values usually exceeding those at the entry, except in cases of AG-A. The patients' plasma gastrin concentrations presented similar variations showing a significant relation with all morphometric parameters of argyrophil cells. Also, the cell content in α subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin was related to the plasma gastrin levels, a finding confirming the close gastrin dependence of the expression of this protein by oxyntic endocrine cells. No significant changes were observed in mucosal somatostatin D cells. These results indicate that variations in circulating gastrin levels are the most likely factor responsible for the hypotrophic effect of octreotide on oxyntic argyrophil cells (mostly corresponding to the ECL cells) of hypergastrinemic patients.